Spirit Realm

Where the wooden floor should have been, there was now an endless, pitch-black expanse.

Ripples occasionally stirred in the depths of the darkness, as if some unseen, colossal creature were swimming beneath.

Diana's pupils constricted sharply, her heart hammering against her ribs as if it might burst through her chest.

She looked up in a panic, desperate to see more, only to find that the familiar archives had vanished entirely.

Above her was no longer a carved wooden ceiling, but a strange membrane covered in deep crimson veins.

The bookshelves surrounding her had somehow transformed into massive black stone pillars, etched with twisted symbols that stretched into an infinite height. In the distance, red and black intertwined into a chaotic, indescribable void where translucent shadows drifted.

"Where is this..."

Diana gripped the Myth of the Era tightly, and without hesitation, closed her eyes to pray.

"Great Lord of All Spirits, please cast Your gaze upon me and save Your loyal knight from this inexplicable void."

No grand, ethereal voice echoed in her mind; her heart sank deeper, her hopes shattering piece by piece.

"How can this be... the Lord cannot hear my call..."

Diana's voice trembled as she took a tentative step, trying to find a way out of this space.

The darkness beneath her feet was not as intangible as she had imagined; it felt solid, firmly supporting her weight.

The air was thick with a cold, heavy aura, instinctively making her feel as though she had stepped into a realm not meant for the living, as if she were standing in a bizarre afterlife.

Diana moved step by step, passing between the black stone pillars toward a faint glimmer in the distance.

In that corner, a strange, indescribable cyan shape pulsed with light, and a humanoid shadow flickered behind it like a candle flame.

"Is someone there?"

A flicker of caution appeared in Diana's eyes. Encountering such a thing in this strange place was hardly a good sign. She stood her ground, observing the silhouette behind the cyan glow.

As if sensing her presence, the shadow slowly stabilized, turning its head as its gaze drifted through the cyan shape toward her.

Diana could see more clearly now. Beneath the shadow was unmistakably the appearance of the library archivist.

The kindly old man wore a smile, his wrinkles filled with warmth, beckoning to her as if he were a grandfather waiting for his granddaughter to come home.

It was as if Diana had been hypnotized; the azure in her pupils dimmed, and she began to drift toward the shadow involuntarily.

Just as she was about to touch the figure, the darkness beneath her feet rippled, and a translucent shadow emerged beside her.

"Don't move."

A grand, ethereal voice emanated from the shadow, and the moment it reached Diana's ears, her eyes regained a spark of clarity.

"Great Lord?"

She stopped and looked at the translucent shadow beside her.

A massive jellyfish glowing with a ghostly blue light was floating in the void.

Strangely, its countless slender tentacles were coiled into two bundles, one of which was anthropomorphically propping up its "chin."

Sensing Diana's gaze, Ivan froze for a moment before hurriedly letting his tentacles fall, pretending to be a normal, large jellyfish.

He realized he couldn't maintain his invisibility in this place.

What's going on? Did my invisibility fail?

Just moments ago.

The moment Diana was pulled into this bizarre, unknown space, Ivan had sensed something was wrong.

The girl's inner voice, which he had been listening to, suddenly cut off, and the light representing Diana in his mind abruptly vanished.

He hurriedly checked the connection of faith between his spirit and Diana, only to find that the faint thread hadn't disappeared; instead, it seemed to have snapped, hiding in the air right in front of the girl.

Phew, thank goodness. I thought she'd just suddenly ceased to exist...

He had drifted over and found the girl staring blankly at the bookshelf, her body and the book in her hands slowly turning transparent, forming a phantom image.

Ivan's heart tightened. Is it because of that book? Was she pulled into some unknown space? Is she slowly fading from reality?

Without hesitation, he looked at the Myth of the Era and reached out with his tentacles. He extended his Spirituality into the ancient book, but it was like jumping into a bottomless pool—there was no response.

The girl's form grew fainter by the second. Ivan grew anxious, unsure of what he had done wrong that prevented him from entering that space.

Is the key not the book itself?

Is it... He recalled the two symbols Diana hadn't recognized and hurriedly opened the book to look at them before it vanished entirely.

The symbols were incredibly complex. Ivan couldn't decipher their meaning, so he simply stared at them, using his Spirituality to trace the symbols in his mind.

Soon, he finally felt the connection to Diana's inner voice once more.

Ivan opened his eyes, only to find he had arrived in this space, seeing the girl—who was being bewitched by a strange shadow—staring at him with wide eyes.

He quickly explained, "Hm, do not be surprised. What you see is merely a projection of one of my myriad spiritual bodies."

"I sensed your state was abnormal, so I dispatched a spiritual avatar to investigate..."

Before Ivan could finish his sentence, the humanoid shadow suddenly moved. The kindly smile vanished, and the features on its face dissolved into a swirling halo of light.

The shadow gradually gained substance, its swinging hands whipping up a gale. The figure stretched and distorted in the air, transforming from a gentle old man into a predatory beast in an instant, lunging toward Diana.

"Watch out!" he warned Diana.

Diana's arched brows furrowed slightly as her supple body twisted into an uncanny angle, narrowly dodging the sudden assault.

A faint golden hue rippled through her azure eyes.

Her white socks tucked into leather boots, the tip of her boot sliced through the air with a crisp whistle, landing a precise kick on the back of the phantom.

With a dull thud, as if a heavy sandbag had been struck, the phantom was sent drifting several meters away, nearly colliding with the surrounding black stone pillars.

Diana did not cease her assault; she landed steadily, tapped her toes against the ground, and darted before the phantom.

Her small right fist, wreathed in a faint golden glow, slammed outward.

Ivan could see that the golden light contained a trace of Spirituality from the Order Aspect; though not blinding, it seemed to pierce through all falsehoods, pinpointing the phantom's weakness with precision.

As Diana's fist collided with the phantom's chest, it felt as if she had struck a ball of cotton, and the phantom's body began to slowly dissolve into gray mist, as if its physical form had been shattered by her blow.

"In the name of the Lord of All Spirits, I punish your transgressions!" she chanted in a low voice, her tone soft yet carrying an unquestionable majesty.

Where on earth did she learn such cringeworthy lines... Ivan silently retorted, seeing through the serious facade of the youthful girl who, despite this being her first battle, remained brimming with excitement.

I, I'm so amazing, I can actually beat this strange creature! Diana was incredibly thrilled at this moment, staring at the bizarre phantom that had been stunned into place by her strike.

Diana remained cautious, maintaining her combat stance; her adrenaline had yet to subside, and a sense of exhilaration flooded her body.

The phantom's face flickered unsteadily as the mist-like substance coalesced into features, the area representing its mouth opening and closing.

A sound like the hissing of a steam carriage starting up emanated from it:

"Lord... of All Spirits..."

"Has He returned... to the Spirit Realm...?"